Adhesive type suture



July 9, 1957 J. G. BARNES ETAL ADHESIVE TYPE SUTURE Filed Dec. 9, 1955 INVENTOR.

ADHESIVE TYPE SUTURE Juanita G. Barnes, Miami, Fla., and Harold N. Barnes, Cicero, 111.

Application December 9, 1953, Serial No. 397,143

9 Claims. (Cl. 128 335) This invention relates to sutures, and more particularly to an adhesive type suture which spans an incision to hold it closed during healing without the necessity of stitching.

Prior art sutures of this type have not been entirely satisfactory due to a tendency to tear at the juncture of the suture neck (which spans the incision) with the suture end portions which are secured by adhesive to the body at opposite sides of the incision. Also, such prior art sutures, due to their construction, have not been suitable for packaging in convenient rolls and have generally been manufactured in the form of separate sutures.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to devise a novel suture which may be conveniently produced in rolls, and to devise a novel method of making such rolls.

Another object of the invention is to prevent tearing of the novel suture by providing ogee curves at the connection between its end portions and the neck which interconnect the end portions.

A more specific object of the invention is to press a strip of tape on adhesive covering one side of a backing, the tape extending lengthwise of the backing approximately midway betwen its lateral edges. The tape and remaining adhesive are then covered by overlapping strips of protective material, such as cheesecloth, and the composite strip of bandage material thus formed is then fabricated into a roll of interconnected sutures by a cutting and perforating process in which the tape is divided into segments by perforations through the composite strip, each opening being joined approximately centrally thereof by slits extending almost to the lateral edges of the composite strip.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention are more fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary partly broken plan view of the composite strip taken from one side thereof before the cutting and perforation thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the composite strip taken from the opposite side thereof after the cutting .and perforation to form a series of interconnected sutures for convenient rolling;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modification;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a single suture embodying the invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective partly broken view of a novel container with a roll of the novel sutures therein;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 6.

Describing the invention in detail, and referring first to Fig. 1, it will be seen that a roll of composite adhesive surgical bandage is fabricated, as hereinafter described. This bandage comprises an elongated flexible backing 2, preferably formed of a textile material to which a layer Staes Patent 'ice of conventional surgical adhesive 4 is applied in the usual manner.

A flexible tape 6 is then secured to the backing 2 by pressing said tape against the adhesive 4. The tape 6 extends lengthwise of the backing 2, preferably about midway between the lateral edges thereof, said tape being of any desired antiseptic material, such as paper, textile or gauze, and being medicated, if desired, as for example by saturation with Mercurochrome.

The tape 6 is then covered by overlapping flexible strips 8 and 10 of protective material such as cheesecloth or any other suitable material. The strips 8 and 10 are pressed against the adhesive 4 at opposite sides, respectively, of the tape 6; and the strips preferably overlap approximately the width of the tape, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the composite bandage consisting of the backing 2., adhesive 4, tape 6, and protective strips 8 and it has been perforated by any suitable device (not shown) to provide a plurality of equally spaced holes or openings 12 through the tape 6, backing 2 and strips 8, said openings 12 being of novel form for a purpose hereinafter described.

The openings 12 preferably divide the tape 6 into seg ments, and said openings 12 are intersected at the ends thereof by slits 14 through the backing 2 and strips 8 and 10. The slits 14 associated with each opening preferably intersect the opening centrally thereof and extend approximately perpendicularly with respect to the lateral edges of backing 2, but are spaced from said lateral edges.

It may be noted that the openings 3.2. and slits 14 are preferably formed by a single pass through a suitable cutting device (not shown); however, it will be under stood that the openings 12, and slits 14 may be formed in any desired manner, and irrespective of sequence.

Thus it will be understood that the composite bandage shown in Fig. 2 comprises a plurality of interconnected sutures generally designated lo. Each suture, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises spaced end portions 18 which are interconnected by a relatively narrow neck 2i), and the end portions of adjacent sutures are interconnected by short segments at 22. which are uninterrupted by the slits 14.

It will be understood, as best seen in Fig. 3, that each suture comprises a backing 2, adhesive i, an antiseptic segment of the tape 6 covering the neck 2!) of the suture, and protective strips 8 and 1t covering the end portions 18 of the suture and overlapping its neck 20.

An important feature of the invention resides in the novel shape of the openings 12, so that the neck 20 of each suture is formed at the ends thereof with ogee curves 24 interconnecting the neck with the related end portions 18. This novel arrangement provides an unusually strong suture which will not tear during handling or removal thereof from the adjacent suture. Furthermore, the suture will not fray or tear after application to an incision which is held closed by the neck iii.

The sutures 16 are preferably rolled, as shown in Fig. 6, and the roll is placed in a novel container 26 having an outlet slot 28 in the top thereof through which the free end of the suture roll may be pulled. One margin of the slot 28 is provided with knife edges 36 at opposite sides thereof to accommodate cutting of the suture segments 22 as the sutures are pulled from the container slot 28. Preferably, the front wall of the container is provided with an aperture 34. between the edges 39 to afford convenient access to the suture at the free end of the roll. If desired, the front wall 32 of the container may also be provided with a flat spring blade 36 anchored at 33 and holding the sutures adjacent the free end of the roll, to prevent said free end from dropping into the container.

Fig. 4- shows a modification wherein the tape 6 is formed of a relatively thick layer of medicated material, such as gauze or textile. Other parts of this modification are identical with the previously described embodiment and are identified by corresponding numerals.

An individual suture 16 is. shown in-Fig. 5, wherein it will be seen that the neck 20 of the backing 2 and tape 6. is covered by complementary segments of the overlapping protective strips 3 and 10 which not only protect the tape 6 at this point, but also protect the adhesive 4 on the end portions 1% of the suture which hold. the latter to the body, so that the neck 2!) extends across an incision to holdit closed.

Thusit will. be seen that we have devised a novel suture roll wherein the sutures are interconnected at their end portions and wherein the end portions of each suture are interconnected by a neck along ogee curves which prevent tearing of the neck before or after application of the suture 16 to an incision.

Another novel feature of the invention resides in the manner in which the sutures are attached to each other, particularly in combination with a novel container havin; spaced knife edges to cut the spaced connections of each suture to adjacent sutures.

While the present invention has been explained and described with reference to specific embodiments of structure, it will be understood, nevertheless, that numerous modifications and variations are susceptible of being incorporated without departure from the essential spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, it is not intended for an understanding of this invention to be limited by the foregoing description nor by the illustrations in the annexed drawings, except as indicated in the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A suture comprising a layer of backing material having spaced end portions interconnected by a neck, a layer of adhesive on said backing material, an antiseptic strip covering the adhesive on said neck and secured thereby to said backing material, and protective strips secured to said end portions by said adhesive, said strips overlapping each other between the ends of said neck.

2. A suture comprising a layer of backing material having end portions, each merging with a narrower neck along ogee curves at both sides of said neck, a layer of adhesive on said end portions and neck, a strip of antiseptic material covering said neck and secured thereto by said adhesive, and strips of protective material secured to respective end portions by the adhesive thereon, said strips overlapping each other and covering the firstmentioned strip.

3. A method of making a roll of sutures comprising the steps of first applying a strip of tape to an elongated backing covered by adhesive, said strip covering a portion of said adhesive and extending lengthwise of the backing and spaced from the lateral edges thereof, then applying strips of protective material to the exposed adhesive, said strips covering said tape and overlapping each other, and then cutting a plurality of spaced holes through said strips, tape and backing, and cutting slits through said strips and backing from opposite sides of each hole approximately centrally thereof to points spaced from the lateral edges of the backing.

4. A method of making a roll of sutures comprising the steps of first securing a tape to a layer of adhesive covering one side of an elongated backing layer, said tape extending lengthwise of the backing layer approximately midway between its lateral edges, then securing protective strips to the remaining exposed adhesive, each of said strips being secured to the adhesive at one side of said tape, said strips overlapping each other and covering said backing layer and said tape, and then cutting holes through the backing layer and strips, said holes cutting the tape into segments, and slitting the backing layer and strips from the middle of each hole at opposite sides thereof to points spaced from the lateral edges of the backing layer.

5. A method of making a roll of sutures comprising pressing a tape against adhesive covering one side of an elongated backing layer, said tape extending lengthwise of the layer between its lateral edges, then pressing protective strips, respectively, against the exposed adhesive at opposite sides of the tape, said strips overlapping each other and said tape and completely covering the tape and the adhesive at opposite sides thereof, and then, irrespective of sequence, cutting the tape into segments by cutting holes completely through the tape, backing layer, and strips, and slitting the backing layer and strips from each hole approximately centrally thereof in straight lines approximately perpendicular to said edges to points spaced therefrom.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein each slit and the related hole are formed to define ogee curves at opposite sides, respectively, of the hole.

7. A suture comprising end portions and a relatively narrow neck connected to said end portions along ogee curves, adhesive on said end portions at one side thereof, protective segments covering said end portions and re movably attached thereto by said adhesive, said segments overlapping each other between the ends of said neck and being formed with ogee. curves in substantially exact alignment with the related first-mentioned curves, said neck having nonadhesive material 'on one side thereof spacing the adhesive on the respective end portions.

8. A suture comprising end portions and an interconnecting neck joining said end portions along ogee curves, adhesive on said end portions, segments of protective material covering said end portions secured thereto by said adhesive, each segment having a part attached thereto along ogee curves having the same contour as the first-mentioned curves, the parts of the respective segments covering said neck.

9. A suture comprising end portions, a neck narrower than said end portions and connected thereto along ogee curves defining opposite edges of each end portion and said neck, adhesive on said end portions. at one side thereof, non-adhesive material on said neck spacing the adhesive on said end portions, and segments of protective material attached to respective end portions by the adhesive thereon, said segments overlapping each other between the ends of the neck and covering said nonadhesive material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,054,768 Gale Sept. 15, 1936 2,133,609 Eustis Oct. 18, 1938 2,244,448 Eaton June 3, 1941 2,391,112 Wolteger et al Dec. 18, 1945 2,544,315 Heldmann Mar. 6, 1951 2,636,297 Johnson Apr. 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047,563 France July 22, 1953 

